Wessex United 3–1 Wigston FC: the draw ends

Match report

Alistair Camberwell opened the scoring in the 16th minute, assisted by Élton Brejo-Alegre. Camberwell is easily the top operator here. He has spent the last week laying on goals in the 78th and the 59th, consolation efforts in games that were already decided. An opener in the 16th is a different individual entirely. It was open-play, methodical, and it let Wessex run the first quarter on their terms.

Wigston equalised seven minutes later. Oscar Trent, from a corner, assisted by Anacleto Bovo. A corner is a set-piece, rehearsed in training back-to-back on a Tuesday morning. I am told the coaching staff had watched Wigston practise this one from an empty stand, two hours before kick-off. It went in anyway. That is the kind of detail the table loves.

The game shifted in the 43rd minute. Felix Hadleigh restored the lead with an open-play goal, and at 2–1 the half-time whistle arrived as a relief rather than a pause. Hadleigh scored in the 6th against Crookes last month, which tells you he likes an early statement. This one was a different sort: it arrived at the moment Wigston's confidence was rebuilding, and it closed the door.

Wessex had been drawing everything in sight lately. Wigston had been in dreadful form. On Tuesday, the gap between 8th on 53 points and 19th on 34 points was visible in the way the second half unfurled. No red cards, no scrambles, no drama. Just a side with more in the tank.

Egon Steinkellner completed the scoring in the 75th minute, assisted by Lawrence Dollman. A goal that late tells the scoreboard who is in charge.

The earlier meeting between these sides finished 2–0. This one carried a similar message. Tomorrow brings Matchday 39, and Wigston will be left to stew. Wessex have found their output at last. The trick, as ever, is keeping it.